Roswitha Steinkopf – LOOK, WITH DIFFERENT EYES
Ground of Memory and Pictorial Form
The Künstlermuseum Heikendorf is dedicating an exhibition to the Kiel-based artist on the occasion of her 75th birthday, presenting works from the past 50 years.
Her paintings on canvas are juxtaposed with photographs taken by the artist. The photographic image is never translated into painting with the intention of realistic reproduction.
The impressions of her life in Schleswig-Holstein and in other parts of the world have undoubtedly—consciously or unconsciously—influenced her artistic practice.
These memories, whether holistic or fragmentary, formal or atmospheric, form her “ground of memory, her subjective image archive” (Roswitha Steinkopf), which has evolved over many years, often with a temporal distance.
Photography and painting inspire one another reciprocally. Sometimes the photograph comes first, sometimes the painted image.
The result of this juxtaposition may surprise the viewer, prompting questions, personal discoveries, reflections, or memories. In any case, it offers insight into a possible “other” way of seeing—an artistic gaze.
Roswitha Steinkopf (1951) studied painting from 1970 to 1976 at the Berlin University of the Arts (Kunsthochschule Berlin) under Gerhard Fietz, completing her studies as a master student (Meisterschülerin). She served repeatedly as a board member of the Association of Visual Artists Schleswig-Holstein and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Germany; among other venues, she was represented several times at NordArt.
From 2002 to 2016, she received grants for residencies in New York, South Korea, Nepal, Kenya, and Thailand. She lives and works in her studio in Kiel.
